president o blamea-- obama will ask congress for $50 billion for hurricane sandy. they announced it today in a statement the moy is to help rebuild road, tunnels and assist thousands of people forced from their homes. those are those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> woodruff: the u.s. supreme court announced today that for the first time in its history it would review the contentious issue of same-sex marriage. for more on the story we turn to margaret warner. >> warner: the justices agreed to hear arguments in two cases: one is california's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, adopted by voters as referendum proposition 8. it was challenged on grounds that gay citizens have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. the justices will also review a provision of the federal "defense of marriage act" or doma that deprives legally married gay couples of federal benefits that are available to heterosexual couples. same-sex marriage is legal or will be soon in nine states and the district of columbia. but 31 states have amende